Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

Guide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow.

Core principle: Verify tests → Production readiness check → Present options → Execute choice → Clean up.

Announce at start: "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Before anything else, verify tests pass:

# Run project's test suite
npm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...

If tests fail:

Tests failing (<N> failures). Must fix before completing:

[Show failures]

Cannot proceed until tests pass.

Stop. Don't proceed to Step 2.

If tests pass: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Production Readiness Gate

Before offering merge/PR options, answer these four questions with evidence:

1. If this feature fails silently at 3am — will on-call know within 5 minutes? Check: is there a log line or metric that unambiguously says "this feature is healthy"?

• If yes: state what it is.
• If no: this is a missing observability gap. Either fix it or document it explicitly in the PR as a known limitation.

2. What is the rollback path? State it explicitly: git revert <sha> / deploy previous image / re-run migration in reverse / etc.

• If there is a data migration: describe the reverse migration and whether old code can read new data.
• If rollback is "unknown": escalate to human before merging.

3. Does this change break any existing callers? For any modified public interface (function signature, CLI flag, API endpoint, config key, file format):

• List who calls it (grep the usages)
• State whether the change is backward compatible
• If breaking: is it documented in CHANGELOG as Breaking Change?

4. Are all deferred items tracked? Every "we'll do this later" from the implementation must have a TODO comment with location or an open issue. Not a mental note. Not a list in the PR description that disappears. A findable artifact.

If any of these four cannot be answered satisfactorily: escalate to human. Do not silently merge with open gaps.

If all four are answered: proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Determine Base Branch

# Try common base branches
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null

Or ask: "This branch split from main - is that correct?"

Step 4: Present Options

Present exactly these 4 options:

Implementation complete. What would you like to do?

1. Merge back to <base-branch> locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?

Don't add explanation - keep options concise.

Step 5: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

# Switch to base branch
git checkout <base-branch>

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge feature branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

# If tests pass
git branch -d <feature-branch>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

# Push branch
git push -u origin <feature-branch>

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification steps>
EOF
)"

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch <name>. Worktree preserved at <path>."

Don't cleanup worktree.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch <name>
- All commits: <commit-list>
- Worktree at <path>

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D <feature-branch>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Step 6: Cleanup Worktree

For Options 1, 2, 4:

Check if in worktree:

git worktree list | grep $(git branch --show-current)

If yes:

git worktree remove <worktree-path>

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Common Mistakes

Skipping test verification

• Problem: Merge broken code, create failing PR
• Fix: Always verify tests before offering options

Open-ended questions

• Problem: "What should I do next?" → ambiguous
• Fix: Present exactly 4 structured options

Automatic worktree cleanup

• Problem: Remove worktree when might need it (Option 2, 3)
• Fix: Only cleanup for Options 1 and 4

No confirmation for discard

• Problem: Accidentally delete work
• Fix: Require typed "discard" confirmation

Red Flags

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests
• Merge without verifying tests on result
• Delete work without confirmation
• Force-push without explicit request

Always:

• Verify tests before offering options
• Present exactly 4 options
• Get typed confirmation for Option 4
• Clean up worktree for Options 1 & 4 only

Integration

Called by:

• subagent-driven-development (Step 7) - After all tasks complete
• executing-plans (Step 5) - After all batches complete

Pairs with:

• using-git-worktrees - Cleans up worktree created by that skill